The perception of the working population

According to a survey carried out by the Training Observatory (Observatoire de la formation) covering the working population, the expression "lifelong learning"(éducation et formation tout au long de la vie - EFTLV) is gradually being adopted into everyday language.

Working people believe that the best way to cement their future career is to continue to undergo training after initial training. They are on the whole satisfied with continuing training supply.

The full-length survey may be downloaded by clicking on the section "Publications" in the right column of this page.

01 Lifelong learning

In Luxembourg, two thirds of working people are familiar with the expression: "lifelong learning".

Lifelong learning covers any learning activity undertaken at any time of life for the purpose of improving knowledge, expertise, skills and/or qualifications for personal, social or professional reasons.

Source: Cedefop, Glossary Quality in education and training, 2011

When asked what lifelong learning (éducation et formation tout au long de la vie - EFTLV) means to them, one third of respondents mentioned continuing training beyond initial training. Most of them referred to training related to their work, while few mentioned attending training on a personal basis.

02 Cementing a future career

65% of the working population believe that continuing training is the best way of cementing a future career. Next is the quality of school education: 57% of respondents think that good initial training is enough to cement a future career.

Learning venues

Asked to rate the "learning venues" in which they had gained the most skills, 55% of those questioned cited their workplace before school and daily life.

Both residents and cross-border workers claim to have learned the most in their workplace (51% and 61% respectively). On the other hand, 30% of residents consider school to be the place in which they gained the most skills, compared with only 18% of cross-border workers.

Only one third of those surveyed considered that the skills gained at school were sufficient for the labour market and professional development.

The level of study has in particular an influence on how people analyse skills gained at school. A higher number of workers with a vocational certificate (CATP, CITP, CCM) considered the skills gained at school sufficient to integrate and develop within the labour market.

03 Experience of continuing training

More than half of the working people surveyed thought that training is aimed first and foremost at working individuals.

Of those questioned, 9 out of 10 saw continuing training as a means of improving their skills and increasing their value on the labour market, or to better meet the needs of their employer.

In addition, 9 out of 10 people had already attended a training course for their work, or on a personal basis.

Most training courses attended were for work purposes (77%), However, 1 in 10 working people had never attended a training course.

Obstacles to continuing training

Organisation of private life constitutes the biggest obstacle to training out of working time.

54% of working people mentioned family commitments and organisation of their private life as the main hindrance to continuing training out of working time.

This is particularly true for people aged from 35 to 44 (60%) and 25-34 (54%). These age groups are indeed generally the most affected by family constraints (young children or children still under their care).

One third of working people did not consider there to be any obstacles to training during their working time.

Amongst the obstacles mentioned, 42% of the working population considered that the volume of their workload may prevent participation in training courses during working hours. This obstacle is cited more often by cross-border workers (47%) than residents (38%).

04 The stakeholders of continuing training

Main stakeholder: the employee

For 6 out of 10 (or 59% of) working people, the employee is responsible for taking the initiative on a continuing training project. Young workers (68% of 18-24-year olds) are more likely to think that the employee should be responsible for his/her own training. In addition, most working people (62%) believe that training benefits the employee first and foremost, followed by the employer (31%).

On the other hand, nearly 7 out of every 10 working people (or 67%) believe that training should be paid by the employer.

Training managers as a point of contact

In order to obtain information on training or support measures, one quarter of the working people questioned (24%) turn to their company, and in particular contact the person responsible for training.

The next points of contact are the training bodies of professional chambers, the Ministry of Education; Children and Youth (Ministère de l’Education nationale, de l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse) and its various services, and private training bodies.

14% do not know where to turn to for their training plans. Young people under 25 (19%) and cross-border workers (18%) are the least likely to know where to turn to for training. The probable explanation for this is based on a lack of knowledge of the national system of continuing training and its stakeholders.

05 Training supply: satisfaction levels

Training supply on the whole satisfactory

56% of people questioned found continuing training supply in Luxembourg satisfactory, and 9% even stated that they were "entirely satisfied".

On the other hand, 1 working person out of 5 (18%) is not convinced by the training supply. Amongst the reasons for their dissatisfaction:

37% mention the poor selection of training courses on offer,

19% cite a lack of communication vis-à-vis the supply.

It is worth noting that 26% of those questioned stated that they did not have an answer or preferred not to comment on the quality of training supply. The influence of cross-border workers largely explains this situation, particularly their lack of knowledge as regards the national system of continuing training. 38% of them did not comment on the quality of the training supply.

The study of the satisfaction levels of working people as regards the training supply highlights a relationship with the importance attached to the training. Those who deem the training to be essential or very important are quite or entirely satisfied with the supply. Conversely, satisfaction decreases as the importance attached to training reduces.

Plans to participate in training in the following 12 months

21% of working people intend to participate in a training course in the following 12 months.

"Language" training courses are the most popular: 32% planned to attend a language training course.

The importance of language training is explained by the unusual situation in Luxembourg as regards multilingualism, multiculturalism and the influx of cross-border workers. As a matter of fact, 22% of Luxembourg training bodies offer "Language" training.

06 Individual support measures for continuing training

Level of knowledge of the working population

Only one working person out of 5 is able to spontaneously name at least one individual support measure for continuing training. 65% of those people are Luxembourg residents. There are huge disparities between those with more qualifications and those with few or no qualifications: 28% of working people at honours degree level and above are aware of the existence of support measures, compared with 15% of unqualified working people.

Working people with Luxembourgish nationality are better informed than those of other nationalities. Indeed, 29% of them are aware of at least one continuing training support measure, compared with only 19% of working people with foreign nationality. The same is true for residents (25%) as opposed to cross-border workers (18%).

However, the ranking differs when those surveyed were asked to pick out the training support measures that they had already heard of from a list of existing measures. Individual training leave (congé individuel de formation - CIF cited by 41% of workers) outstrips financial support for higher education and language training leave. It is worth noting that 18% of working people have never heard of any training support measures: they are largely male workers who live abroad.

Effectiveness of word of mouth

Those people who are informed have heard of continuing training support measures through websites and word of mouth (25% and 20% respectively). Promotion within the company (14%) and information brochures (catalogues, prospectuses) are the two other information channels that are most frequently cited.